I stopped by a large tree and laid down by its large roots. My breaths came in sharp wheezes as I tried to calm my beating heart. Beads of sweat poured down my face, glistening in the moonlight as they fell to the ground. I was exhausted. I had been running for more than an hour now-a feat that I never believed I could achieve-and my legs were begging me to stop. If I continued on, I could break down from exhaustion and lose whatever strength I had left in me. "Ughh," I grunted in pain as I grabbed my grumbling stomach. The hunger that had left me since morning had finally descended upon me with full rage. I should have eaten when Gadot told me to. I lifted my head up, searching the trees for any fruit that I could eat to satisfy my groaning stomach but unfortunately, I could t find any. I sunk into the ground and closed my eyes tight as I took in deep breaths. Suddenly, I heard a snap and a small object hit me on the head. I opened my eyes and stood up from the ground quickly, t
The rogue wolves circled the base of the tree, their eyes never leaving me as they sneered up at me perch. I knew they could get to me if they wanted but it seemed like they wanted to play with their prey first before attacking.Suddenly, one of them leaped from the ground and swiped at my branch with his claws. A large chunk of it immediately broke off and fell to the ground. They laughed as the branch underneath me began to creak. My heart pounded loudly in my chest and whatever though of escape that I had formed immediately fled from me as my body trembled with fear. The branch I was on was about to give way and I knew I wouldn't stand a chance against them if I fell to the ground. Suddenly, one of the wolves ears twitched and they all stopped moving. Their heads immediately snapped in the same direction as a small rustle was heard. From the corner of my eyes, I saw a movement-a flash of fur dashing through the underbrush. I recognized immediately from its coat that it was a sma
I grabbed a handful of mud and threw it at the rogue wolf. He grunted loudly as it hit him on his face, causing him to lose his vision temporarily. He tripped his foot against a stone and fell down hard on the ground right beside me. I let out a loud gasp as he fell by my side. His hands swayed from left to right as he tried getting a hold of me but I scooted away from him before they could get to me. Taking my chance to escape, I hurriedly stood up to my feet and jumped into the river. As I swam to the other side, I took a few glances behind me to see if he had recovered, but to my relief, the rogue wolf was still disoriented, slipping and falling constantly as he struggles to get up on his feet. I reached the opposite bank and scrambled out of the water, a small chill running down my spine as the cold water trickled down my back. My clothes were heavy and my breaths came in short gasps as I knelt down on the floor. I took another glance at the rogue wolf and to my horror, found h
I paused my eating and crouched as my eyes turned to the window. Small murmurs and laughter echoes from outside as large shadows passes by. I turned my gaze to an open window before bringing it to the slowly approaching figures. I muttered a cuss under my breath as I quickly left the table and ran to the window. Carefully, I crawled out the small space, careful to not let any of the broken glass cut me, and landed softly on the grass outside just as the wolves pushed the door open. "Go drop the spoil at the back so we can go on with our feast," I heard one of the wolves say. Whoever he had been speaking to grunted in response, and I heard the heavy footsteps grow louder. My heart raced as I crouched lower, trying my best to stay hidden behind the tall bushes by the house. The scent of the wolves filled the air, sharp and pungent, and I knew at once that they were rogues. Why was I always stumbling into them? Keeping low, I crept along the side of the house, moving silently throu
I sat on the ground in silence, staring at the man's outstretched bloodied hands. I didn't know know what to say as my mind still struggled to process all that I had just witnessed.The chase, being close to death, the blur, and now this stranger standing before me, offering his hands as though we were close friends-I just didn't know how to react to it all. The smile on the man's face remained, widening as he withdrew his hands back. His strange expression seemed out of place, a stark contrast to the blood-soaked chaos before me, but still, I couldn't deny the fact that I felt some kind of... safety in his presence. "You're not good with strangers, I see," the man said as he unsheathed a bloodied sword from his side that I had not seen in his hands before. Part of the blade that was not covered in blood gleamed in the sunlight as he wiped it with a small rag. "And you seem to be the quiet type too." "I'm... I'm sorry," I muttered, my voice barely a whisper. My gaze flickered from
"You're... you're saying, I'm with child?" "Well, yes, you're with child," the old man said with a small chuckle as though I had said something funny. He looked up from what he was doing and his smile immediately faded away as he saw the expression on my face. He paused, his hands hovering over the bottles on my bed. "You didn't know?" Before I could give an answer, the door suddenly opened and both our eyes turned towards it. Standing by the doorway was Alexander, the man who had rescued me earlier. His intense gaze moved from the old man to me and I saw a look of concern in his eyes. "You're awake," he said softly as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click. Unwrapping his sheathed sword from his side, he walked over to my side and sat on a small stool by the bed. His eyes lingered on me for some moments before turning to the old man. "How is she, Azreon?" "She's actually getting better," the old man replied as he poured the content of one of the
I sat up on my bed after hearing light knock on the door. Adjusting my duvet over myself and patting down my dishevelled hair, I called for the person outside to come in. The door creaked open slowly and in walked a young maidservant. She had a small tray on her hands with a cloche on top. I presumed she was bringing me my breakfast. "Good morning, miss," she greeted with a small smile as she closed the door slowly with her foot. "How do you see your room?""It's... good," I answered with a small sigh as I relaxed my back against my beds headboard. I watched as she walked over to my bedside table and placed the tray on it. Turing to me, she smiled warmly and said, "it's good to hear that, miss." "Thank you," I replied to her softly, returning her smile with a faint one of my own. "But... I prefer you call me by my name and not... Miss." She stared at me for a few moments, a somewhat blank expression on her face. It didn't take too long for me to realize that she was waiting for me
I froze, almost stumbling to the ground as I sighted the weapon in the Alpha's hands. My heart pounded in my chest as my eyes locked with his. He seemed to be asking me something as his mouth moved but everything sounded distant. "... you okay?" I managed to catch a few of his words, though my mind struggled to process them amidst the stirring anxiety in my chest. "Yeah, I'm... I'm okay," I stuttered after I had found my voice. I tried to steady myself on the crutches but they kept on slipping under me. "I'm... I'm actually--WHOA!!!" The crutches suddenly slipped from beneath me, causing me to lurch forward. Instinctively, I reached out for support, but all I caught was air. Suddenly, I heard a small whiz and a flash of red blur. Before I could process what was happening, I found myself stopped by strong, firm grip. I was then pulled upright and steadied, my heart still racing. I looked up to see Alexander's golden eyes focus on mine intensely, the look of concern in them. "You ha
CAYDENI gave them a puzzled look as the all stares at me. "What?" I asked. "How do you expect me to lure him out? The guy hates my guts. He's basically starting this whole war simply to ruin me.""That's exactly the reason why you are the best person to lure him out," Marcy replied. "He seems to be holding a deep and terrible grudge for you. All you have to do is tug on that grudge.""What?" I asked, confused. "I don't understand.""I'll be straightforward with it then," she said. "We can't win against that guy when his brain and mind are functioning properly. He is incredibly smart, cunning and overly cautious. He might make a mistake in battle but not one that we can exploit. He might also have a vast army by now considering all of the deaths he's caused. He's even had time to turn them into his minions. There's no telling the amount of abominations he can unleash on us.""I still don't understand what any of that has to do with me and how it helps me anger him," I replied, lookin
CAYDENI stared at Marcy, at her beautiful eyes as they stare back at me."You're right," I nodded. "He must going around and talking to anyone he believes would be strong enough to be a threat to him.""He won't be simply convincing them either," Rafael added. "He threated me with death when I refused. I believe the others would be getting the same offer I got, both the good and bad aspects of it. He gave up on killing me for reasons I wouldn't disclose but I don't think the others will get that luxury."We pondered it for a bit and Marcy started to speak."What do yo-""Switch," Raphael suddenly said, looking beside him. It took me a while to figure out that he was talking to one of the women he was sleeping with. "Oh, and pass the gag as well. I'm still having a meeting.""Oh, so you remember you are in a meeting," I hissed. "Couldn't you do this at a more convenient time?""You know me, Cayden," Rafael smiled. "I'm actually showing a bit of decorum here. At least give me some cred
MARCYFor goddess' sake, these two would never stop bickering. I couldn't help but sigh at Cayden's blatant response to her name, obviously angering Beatrice who stared back at him with resolute indignation."And I couldn't be bothered that this bastard is an Alpha," she retorted."Okay, that's it," I said. "Beatrice, you would have to excuse us for this conversation.""The Beta too," he added as Alex silently perused the documents, choosing not to involve himself in their conflict.Ever since Cayden accepted Bella back for the sake of my children, Alex had developed a form of respect for him. He still hates him with a passion but just like me, he has learned to tolerate him as well."I don't think it would be a good idea for Alex to not be present," I replied. "If this is about nobody, that is. He's been doing a lot of research on him and the kind of creature he is. I believe he would have some important information to share."Cayden seemed... displeased?It might just be my imagina
CAYDEN"What was I thinking?" I chastised myself under my breath, mentally facepalming at my impulsiveness. "This is all Jace's fault. That bastard."Jace's words had plagued me after he said them. He wasn't wrong. All I needed to do hear from Marcy was call her. It was as easy as that.But that was incredibly tough for me. I don't think I've spoken to Marcy since we started walking together. In fact, we've never talked on the phone from the day I knew her. Calling her now would not only put of character, but it'll be awkward as well.I couldn't bring myself to do it.I also couldn't deny the fact that I missed her presence in the pack. Hateful as she may be of me, she brightened up my mood when I saw her. This only increased after our imprisonment in the Bloodless Pack. She had grown to tolerate me and at least give me a chance to talk to her without it divulging into an argument about my horribly stupid past mistakes. She even allowed me interact with her children who strangely ca
MARCYHectic.That's the only word that best describes my return to the pack.It turns out having a competent Beta cam only make your work harder when you leave for a long time. Alex handled everything and being the man that he is, decided that there are some decisions that require my exclusive input and they were too sensitive to be discussed while I was in the Blue Heart Pack because of the possibility that we were being watched.That has only served to complicate my life more now that I'm back as I had a plethora of meetings, hours of perusing documents and even more hours of signing such that my wrists hurt.Knowing I would be going back, Alex was making sure I did all that could be done before leaving.I groaned audibly as I read through yet another document. Alex is in the chair opposite me as he silently read and sorted out other documents. We've been at this for five hours now and I am both exhausted and bored.A knock on the door attracts our attention and I hope against all
CAYDEN"Jace!" I yelled as I rummaged through my office in search of a particular document. "Jace!"Jace calmly walked in on my second call with his usual expressionless face. "You know, you could easily call me through the mind link. You didn't have to yell.""I do what I want," I retorted as I continued to rummage through my shelves while Jace stood there calmly, watching me.After a few minutes of fruitless effort, I turned to look at him. "Well?" I said with annoyance in my eyes. "Help me out, will you?!""You still haven't told me what you are searching for, Alpha?" He replied calmly. "I can't find it if I don't know it.""The contract we drew up with the Nightwalker Pack. I want that contract," I replied as I continued to check through numerous files and documents."May I ask why?" I looked up at him again, this time my annoyance turning into anger."No, you may not! Just fucking find it!""That's why I said you could have just asked me through the mind link instead of going
CAYDENJace's words bit deep. All I could do was stare at my Beta as he quite calmly admonished me for my foolish mistakes. I had no words for him as I stared at my table, unable to even look at his face."Well, who am I to chastise you," he shrugged. "I don't know what it's like to be Alpha and I've never ruled a pack. You probably were desperate at the time and I can understand that desperate times call for desperate solutions.""Jace," I sighed after a few seconds of silence between us. "What do I do to get out of this mess?"He didn't reply for a few minutes before taking a deep breath."Solve it."I finally got the courage to look up at him."What?" "First of all, get that weird sorry look off your face," he said. "An Alpha must never falter. You know that better than I do."I continued to stare at him, puzzled."I've never been in your situation before because I've never had to kill a woman I impregnated, so I don't have a set path I could advise you to follow," he continued. "
yCAYDENI tapped my fingers restlessly on my table as I sat at on my office. The atmosphere is quite relaxing with rays of sunlight illuminating the office through the window and a tranquil silence that would easily put anyone to sleep.Yet, I was restless.The door opened and Alex walked in distractedly as he eyes were glued to a few papers in his hand."Good day, Alpha," he greeted, still distracted. "You called for me.""Yeah," I nodded. "Take a seat."He promptly obeyed but still didn't look up from his papers. They seem to have him entranced."Eyes up ahead, Jace," I said as I tapped louder on the table to get his attention.He finally looked up at me with a question in his eyes, obviously displeased for having to look up from whatever he is reading."What do you have there?" I asked out of curiosity."Documents of our expenditure and a few other observations the scouts and administrators reported about the pack. Apparently, we might have neglected quite a bit in the past year."
MARCYThe atmosphere was tense in my office. I was on high alert and I scanned my surroundings carefully for any sign of his invisible minions. He knew they couldn't escape my eye so he brought none. Even still, I wasn't exactly at peace around him.There was something inherently wrong about his entire presence. Except for the obvious scent of death surrounding him, I can feel there was something else but can't quite place my hand on it.I don't want to admit it but he gives me the chills."A warning, huh?" I asked coldly as I tapped my fingers on my desk. "Are you gonna threaten me in my own pack?""I wouldn't be dumb enough to do that, would I?" He chuckled. "I'm hoping not," I replied."So, if I do warn or threaten you," he said as he leaned forward. "It's because I am confident that I can."I stared at him for a few minutes and leaned forward as well."Then you must be the most foolish being on earth, whatever you are."He chuckled for a bit and then leaned back."I like you, Al